People

Full-Time Faculty

Dr. Kelvin Billingsley

Assistant Professor Organic & Bioorganic Chemistry

Our research focuses on the discovery and application of new therapeutics, chemical probes and methods for organic synthesis. Motivated by an interest in human health, our program is specifically directed towards areas of medical relevance, leveraging expertise in biomedical imaging and medicinal chemistry to develop new agents for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases.

Dr. Daniel Curtis

Associate Professor Analytical Chemistry

Spectroscopic properties of atmospheric aerosol particles. Laboratory and field measurements of the absorbance and scattering of light by naturally occurring aerosol particles and their interaction with pollution gases to determine their effect on global climate and visibility.

Dr. Allyson Fry-Petit

Assistant Professor Analytical and Materials Chemistry

Research interests are in solid state inorganic chemistry, focused on the rational design of new materials through the use of data mining, synthesis, structural characterization and optical and vibrational probes. Experimental and analysis development of inelastic neutron measurements of dynamic pair distribution function analysis at national lab facilities is another major research interest that is resulting in collaborations with labs around the world.

Dr. Barbara Gonzalez

Professor Chemical Education

Applying the constructivist constructs of conceptual change, problem solving, visualization and transformation of particulate and mental representations to learning in chemistry; impact of computer technology on the learner's ability to represent molecular models and to solve novel problems.

Dr. Michael Groves

Assistant Professor Physical & Theoretical Chemistry

Development of machine learning algorithims in order to theoretically determine the structure of chemically relevant nanoparticles and surfaces; computationally determine the chemical reactivity of surfaces in applications ranging from energy generation and storage to pharmaceutical synthesis in collaboration with experimentalists.

Dr. John Haan

Associate Professor Chemistry

Research interests are in the area of electrochemistry to address alternative energy options, particularly those related to fuel cell technology; development of new catalysts and fuels; probing the chemistry of fuel cell reactions.

Dr. Maria Linder

Professor Biochemistry

Mammalian copper and iron metabolism, focusing on the structure, function and regulation of proteins associated with these elements; emphasis is on mechanisms of copper transport in pregnancy and lactation, and on the intestinal absorption and storage of iron; studies use a broad variety of approaches from cell culture models, transgenic mice and tracer radioisotopes, to isolation, sequencing and characterization of proteins, as well as manipulation of mRNA/protein expression.

Dr. Marcos Ortega

Assistant Professor Biochemistry

Biochemical, biophysical, and structural approaches to study viral replication and assembly using X-Ray crystallography and enzyme kinetics. The understanding of the biochemical structure and function of viral proteins can provide foundational knowledge about how to develop antiviral therapies.The energy intensive process of viral replication can also serve as a model to understand how biological systems use biomolecules to produce massive amounts of energy.

Dr. Andrew Petit

Assistant Professor Physical & Theoretical Chemistry

Research interests are broadly focused on using theoretical chemistry and computers to answer fundamental questions about what happens after molecules absorb light and become excited. Current specific areas of interest include photochemistry, the ultrafast relaxation of UV-filters in the human eye, the properties and dynamics of molecular anions, and vibrational spectroscopy at electrified interfaces. Applications of this research involve developing better dyes, sunscreens, solar cells, and photocatalysts. Depending on the project, students will learn quantum chemical software (such as Gaussian, Q-Chem, and Gamess), molecular dynamics software and/or computer coding.

Dr. Madeline Rasche

Professor BiochemistryOn sabbatical 2016-2017

Biochemical, genetic, and genomic approaches to identify the genes and characterize the enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathways of selected archaeal coenzymes and potential applications for modulation of biological methane production and utilization by microorganisms of environmental importance.

Dr. Nicholas T. Salzameda

Associate Professor Organic & Bioorganic Chemistry

The synthesis of novel peptide catalysts for asymmetric carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. The discovery of biologically active molecules for disruption of protein-protein interactions, focusing on targets related to human health. Both of these research objectives are centered on solid phase reaction methodology.

Dr. Fu-Ming Tao

Professor Physical ChemistryOn sabbatical Spring 2017

Theoretical study of molecular structure and interactions using advanced computational programs and technologies; application of computational chemistry to the investigation of environmental and biological problems, in collaboration with experimental scientists.

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